By Amanda DiAntonioAs many brands have come to realize, Facebook promotions are a great way to increase engagement, fan counts, and (if done correctly) positive sentiment. Creating these promotions has become relatively simple, but ensuring that they are successful can be more of a challenge. If you are going to run a Facebook promotion, it is important to have an idea of what success looks like and how to achieve it.

1. Have the Best Plan from Beginning to End

Before even thinking about running a promotion, take a look at the Facebook Promotion Guidelines. Even if you have done a promotion before, it is a good idea for your team to have a refresher. You do not want to put your promotion or your page, for that matter, in jeopardy because of a simple oversight. Assuming you have already chosen a third party app (i.e. Wildfire), be sure to have a well written draft of terms and conditions for the promotion. Finally, make sure that you have a prize fulfillment plan in place. You want to cover all bases from the beginning of the promotion to the end and the excitement of that congratulatory email will begin to lose its luster if you don’t fulfill your promise quickly and efficiently.

2. Have the Best Prize

Brands run promotions for many reasons and give away various types of prizes ranging from products to getaways. Even if you don’t have a huge budget or elaborate prize, that’s okay as long as your prize pertains to your brand and your audience. Most people who like a page tend to like that brand so any free promotion related to that brand, should appeal to them. The value of your prize should also have an effect on your promotion’s barrier to entry. People will not jump through hoops just to unlock a coupon code (unless it’s one valuable coupon). This is important to keep in mind when creating your promotion.

3. Have the Best Campaign

You could have the greatest prize possible, but in order to promote it successfully, there are three key components. Shareable content, targeted advertising, and eye catching creatives. As with all content, you want to be as engaging as possible and promotions are no exception. Clever copy will go a long way in attracting a fan’s attention. Facebook Ads are a great way to expose potential fans to your promotion and to show them just how great your brand is. If you target the right people, advertising your promotion has the potential for success. Lastly, make sure any creative imagery associated with your promotion is aesthetically pleasing. It should be clear and concise. If done right, your creative will compliment your promotion and draw attention to it in a positive way.

There are many advantages for brands to run promotions on their Facebook pages (as I stated above). Unfortunately, there are many ways that they can go wrong if you’re not fully prepared before, during, and after. Hopefully, you will find some helpful tips here and will soon be able to give the people what they want…some free stuff!

What are some of the most successful Facebook promotions you have seen? Share your thoughts in the comments below!